107. Diluted Atmosphere [cca. 1960]

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107. Diluted Atmosphere [cca. 1960]

Ion Ţuculescu

1910, Craiova - 1962, Bucureşti

Estimate:

EUR 40.000 - 70.000

Sold

EUR 92.500

References

VLASIU, Ion, "Ion Tuculescu", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1966. COMARNESCU, Petru, "Tuculescu", Meridiane Publishing House, Bucharest, 1974. CÂRNECI, Magda, "Ion Tuculescu", Meridiane Publishing House, Sibiu, 1984.

oil on canvas, 100 x 80 cm, signed lower right, in black, in monogram, "TUC"

PROVENANCE

Maria Tuculescu's collection; Ioana Tuculescu's collection; later, private collection, Bucharest

The emergence and evolution of Ţuculescu in Romanian painting falls within the domain of the unique. His art is more of an artistic experience that manages to stay beyond any stylistic school or any dominant style. Albeit criticized numerous times for its atypical nature, Ţuculescu continues to defy any local artistic formula outlined until the 20th century. According to the critical writings of the time, he is the embodiment of the "expressionist". And precisely this expressionism is what will single out Ţuculescu in the Romanian artistic space. Throughout his artistic career, Țuculescu quickly consumes each stylistic stage, being in a continuous change of pictorial motifs, focusing more on ways of expressing himself and the intensity of his experiences than preserving a constant line of motifs. The totemic symbol - that suddenly appears at the end of the folkloric phase, seems to announce a new change in Ţuculescu's stylistic journey, which will be fully defined in 1960. His works become abstract - the horizon line disappears, the idea of perspective is destroyed, replaced by ostentatious bidimensionality, with strong chromatic compositions. This totemic period, also called the "signs and symbols" period is characterized by the way in which Ţuculescu's painting transcends and manages to propose a new system of symbols, which will transform the image into the pure expression of the creative self. "Diluted Atmosphere" manages to encompass all the defining elements of Țuculescu's abstract period (1959-1960), from the strong, pure chromatics to the emblematic symbols - the cross, the eye and the totem. The bidimensionality of the work is given by vertically placing the figurative elements. The three elements themselves are subject to a unification process, the result of which can be identified with the totem's overarching, dominant image - an invention of the artist, which reflects influences of folkloric origin. By depicting a totemic couple, Ţuculescu emphasises the magical function of the work, its repetitive and hypnotic motives being transposed like a visual ritual. This ritual manages to direct the aspirational gesture of creation, from the aesthetic to the pure, essential reality. Thus, the entire world of images and the obsession of the creative act are found in the totemic being, a symbol of the totality of the world. The totems function as a complete metaphor, as a symbol of the world of image and the creative gesture, which "succeeds in synthesizing and reproducing the unique and complex pulse of reality".

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